


Timing

by Mireille



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2005-09-18
Updated: 2005-09-18
Packaged: 2019-03-11 15:05:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13526808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mireille/pseuds/Mireille
Summary: "Want me to kiss it and make it better?"





	Timing

**Author's Note:**

> Set during late S3, and therefore, everyone in this story is over the age of 18.

"I don't get it," Xander said. "That door's practically hanging off its hinges. Why can't I get it open? And if anything you're about to say involves the word 'wimp,' save it for a day when I haven't been thumped on the head by some insane demon cult member, okay?"

"Hm?" Giles forced himself to open his eyes; he was feeling rather lightheaded at the moment. Blood loss, he thought, looking down at the shredded right leg of his trousers, and then dragged his attention back to the conversation. "Er...yes. The door. It's... the sigils carved into it, they're a... a locking spell. It'll only open from the other...." He lost his train of thought for a moment, distracted by the throbbing in his leg. "The other side," he finished at last. 

Xander turned back toward him. "What's with the not-finishing of sentences? You're not usually Incoherent Guy." 

"I'm sorry," he said, shifting position to try to hide his injury from Xander. They hadn't been together when they were captured--Giles had been here for an hour or so before Xander had been brought in--so there was a chance Xander hadn't yet noticed, and there was no need to worry him. 

Not about this, at least; they both had a great deal to worry about.

"No, that's not--" Xander stopped, frowning. "Is that blood?" When Giles hesitated, not certain if he should attempt to reassure Xander or not, Xander went on, "I mean, I _know_ it's blood. Is that _your_ blood?"

Giles nodded; there seemed little point in lying. 

"Let me see," Xander said, kneeling down on the floor next to Giles. "I did kind of wonder why you weren't helping me with the attempted door-breaking-down." 

"I'm afraid standing is a bit beyond my...my capacity at the moment." 

"Yeah. I can see that." Xander got up again, going over to the far corner of the room they were in--a large storage closet, Giles thought, from the shelves lining the walls. "They got me on my way home from school," he said, opening his school bag and looking through it. "I think I had... yeah." He held up a plastic bottle. "Water. Unopened and everything." 

He managed something like a laugh. "I doubt we're going to be here long enough to get thirsty, Xander. Once the moon rises, they'll start the sacrifice."

"Unless we get out of here. Come on, Giles. We've got your big Watcher-y brain and my, uh... and we've got me." He shrugged. "Besides, Buffy will find us." Xander rummaged through his bag again. "And the water's for cleaning your leg up, if I can find a rag or something."

"I'm afraid my handkerchief's already blood-soaked."

Xander thought for a minute. "Um. My t-shirt's kind of clean?"

Giles nodded slightly. It didn't matter one way or the other, but if it helped Xander to think that he was doing something, Giles might as well let him. 

Xander tore off part of the bottom of his shirt, soaking it with water before daubing at the gash in Giles' leg. He was surprisingly gentle, but all the same, Giles winced, his breath hissing sharply past his teeth. 

"Sorry," Xander said. He soaked the cloth again before going back to cleaning away the blood; the wet cotton was cold against Giles' skin. "It feels kind of hot. Doesn't that mean it's getting infected?"

He only nodded; they'd both have had their hearts cut out before he had to worry about mere bacteria, but there was no need to remind Xander of that. 

Xander spent a few more minutes cleaning the wound, then looked up at Giles. "That's about all I can do, unless you want me to kiss it better." 

Giles didn't let himself answer that; knowing they were about to die made it all too tempting to agree, even though he was aware it was only an expression. 

"Yeah," Xander said, biting his lip. "That's what I figured."

It didn't matter how wrong it was, Giles told himself. They wouldn't live an hour past moonrise, and so the ethical questions were largely irrelevant. He was dizzy, his leg still hurt, and they wouldn't see the sun come up in the morning. It was difficult to think of reasons why he shouldn't be selfish. It wouldn't harm anything, or at least not for long. "It certainly wouldn't hurt," he said. 

"Anyway, I know what it sounded like, but I was only jo--really?" 

Giles nodded slightly. 

"Whoa." Xander just looked at him for a moment, grinning despite their situation, and then leaned in closer. 

It wasn't that Giles wasn't very grateful to Buffy for saving their lives, he thought later. It was just that he wished she'd waited five more minutes to do it.

**Author's Note:**

> [me on tumblr](https://mireille719.tumblr.com)


End file.
